BJD sweatshops?

But resin is harder to cast than many other things, that's why many re-cast dolls end up leaking toxic fumes or "sweating" nasty chemicals. I think it takes training and time/attention to detail to produce these dolls and I doubt doing so with a sweat shop would be efficient or profitable for the companies.

I think the person who said that to the OP was ignorant and just didn't like BJDs, so she was dismissing them as being like barbies or something.

I also VERY much doubt that BJD companies are kidnapping kids from india to work on their resin dolls. o_o;

 

I sincerely doubt that BJDs are made in sweatshops. Reason being, as it's been said, sweatshops are used to mass-produce items, and BJDs are cast on an order-by-order basis. If they were being cast in sweatshops, then I sincerely doubt that wait times would be as long as they are, as the dolls would already be produced and ready to ship. Another aspect, as has already been mentioned, is the quality- BJDs would probably have a lot more flaws like air bubbles, seams, etc. if they were made in those conditions.

I also have to agree with what was said about the artist being bitter- chances are he/she's upset because they're business isn't taking off like they want it to, and decided they would bash Asian BJDs in an effort to improve their own business.

 

I'm not sure if this is an "off-topic" subject on DOA. If it is I'm sure this thread will be deleted. But, if not, I'm just wondering if anyone know if any BJDs, clothes, shoes or accessories made in China are made in Chinese Labor Camps?

 

I don't know about that specifically, but I'd found this somewhat related topic previously that may be of help:
BJD sweatshops?

 

I doubt that the dolls are but some of the clothes/shoes could be.

 

Thank you! That link was very helpful.

 

This comment made me relieved. This is a tense subject for me, as for many others I would believe. It does make sense clothing and accessories could possible be produced in sweatshops - but good thing I don't buy accessories often, if not at all. But just because I don't doesn't mean others won't...

 

i highly doubt that bjds are produced in sweatshop. if they were they would look more like barbies, it would take less time for them to be made, and they would be so much cheaper than they are now. it just sounds to me that the person who said that has no idea what they are talking about. if bjd were produced in that matter they wouldn't be as detailed and well made. things produced in sweatshops are for the most part cheap looking and rushed.

 

I saw something on the news before Christmas about ornaments made in sweatshops. One of the things to look for is sweatshop items don't have a mark saying where they were produced. I don't know how accurate that information was though.

 

I read through this entire thread, and I wholeheartedly agree on this post.

I saw that someone had posted many posts back that Mimewoo probably sells sweatshop stuff....now I feel terrible because I just bought a whole bunch of things on ebay from them (buttons, etc). But then again, I don't know if the buttons/etc were made in bad conditions or not, so I'll have to look them up a bit more.

 

A recent article online has gotten me to thinking about the things I buy and the working conditions for the people who make these items. I'm very curious to know how much of the ball-jointed dolls - the dolls themselves, their accessories, etc . . . - are made in China. For the long time collectors, any thoughts, any input is greatly appreciated on my part.

I found my answers.

 

Was that the woman who found the letter in her Halloween decoration? Because that's what prompted me to start looking into this.

 

This is why im in this thread. My concern for bjd casting is that is it safe in China? They may not be in a sweatshop but if they have any less than the bare minimals (N95 mask) while casting can make them sick...

 

I just now found out about the woman who found the sweatshop letter. It wasn't the same story though. I can't find a link to that news story,but apparently a few sweatshops got shut down recently. I still don't think BJDs are made under those conditions,but I am starting to question where my merchandise comes from.

 

It is scary that bjds (or some of their parts) could be made under sweat-shop conditions. But what makes me sad is so many people's willingness to ignore the sweatshop conditions of some of the companies they get clothes and props from, like Walmart. It is tempting to buy a working, bjd-sized lamp for $2, but if I know it came from basically slave labor... But there is a lot of mystery behind the production of these dolls

 

A lot of products sold in America are made by slave labor and child labor. Anti-Slavery International, Fair Trade International and Fair Trade US are good resources to find out where and how products are made. The chocolate we buy is more likely to have come from child labor then our BJD are to have come from sweat shops.

 

I remember that a while ago a dealer said, I think it was Mint on Card (?), that chinese companies can't afford it anymore to sand their dolls completely smooth (including removing all seamlines) without rising the prices OR having way longer waiting times.
Why? Because it's a very hard job and even though they offered higher loans people don't want to do it anymore.
If dolls were actually made in sweatshops this wouldn't be an issue, would it?
They would just get a bunch of kids and force them to sand little dolls all day for minimum wage.

While I think that not everything is sunshine and rainbows in doll-making land I hope it's not as bad as sweatshops.
However, as far as I know a lot of of companies design, package etc. the dolls themselves but the actual casting of them is done in casting factories, and some make dolls for several companies too.
While the little offices of the companies might be nice looking you never know what's actually happening in the casting factories.
Not to mention the stuff that needs to be made FOR the dolls, like wigs, outfits, eyes.
So, while I don't think it's as horrible as sweatshops I still think it might come close to that in some cases :/

 

I think it's almost certain BJDs produced in China are being made in sweatshops. And this doesn't mean China companies are the only ones doing it - many Korean companies outsource to Chinese companies because it's so much cheaper.

Those saying BJDs aren't mass produced enough to be made in sweatshops are ignoring the fact that a resin casting company doesn't usually work for just one company - a company can cast BJDs, tools, kits, and many different resin products. A doll company would only need to place a minimum order of 100 or so dolls to get a sweatshop to produce their dolls.

Sanding is also probably sweatshop work, especially when the company does not charge extra for it (and the reason sanding can be offered for free is because the sweatshop workers aren't offered ventilation or protective wear, meaning they will become sick from their work over time).

If you don't want to support sweatshop labour, you would need to be very careful about which companies to buy from. Large companies with longer wait times (which are due to bulk orders from China being shipped to the doll company before they can ship to you) like Soom, Volks, Fairyland and Iplehouse would be very risky bets. Small artists would be safer choices, as they wouldn't benefit as much from Chinese sweatshop labour.

 

What makes you so certain of this? Because, personally, I highly doubt it. Five reasons:

1. Casting resin requires skilled people. I've had quite a bit of experience casting resin, but I'm unable to produce the high quality resin expected in this hobby, which is why I'm asking Dollshe to do this for me. It is hard to make a good quality cast.

2. The set-up and materials you need to be able to guarantee high quality is costly.

3. Of course casting companies work for several dollmakers, because that's the service they have build their business on. They need customers, just like other businesses do. Doesn't mean that their production rate equals that of Mattel. Small studios especially don't sell many dolls (we're probably talking about 10 to 30 dolls in a batch) and many of these small-timers are dependent on the services of casting companies. Long story short, I don't think there is enough work for a sweatshop.

4. Like Ara* said, some of the newer Chinese companies are no longer able to sand their dolls for free. This might indicate that their sales have gone up. Sanding seams is time consuming, but sometimes artists offered this option as a way to attract customers. When a company receives too many order at some point, they will have to decide between hiring someone to do the seam sanding for them, or to stop offering that option to their customers. Sweat shops wouldn't have this problem.

5. Wages in China are lower and they don't have to import resin or silicone (like I have to), so they are able to keep the cost down, without having to turn to illegal methods.


tl;dr
I haven't seen anything that would indicate the use of sweat shops. The market is too tiny and too specialized to have any use of them.